The soup will be sold that night in Styrofoam bowls, but art students have crafted 145 ceramic bowls that will also be for sale. Proceeds will go to an area food pantry. In addition, the soup recipes will be made with ingredients that can feed a family of four for $6.

"There is one in five families living in the Lehigh Valley who don't have enough to eat, and I find that truly astonishing," student Olivia Searfass, 14, of Coopersburg said.

The student artwork is inspired by the Allentown Art Museum exhibit "Who Shot Rock and Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present." Students are scheduled to take an after-school tour of the visiting show that features 175 images by more than 100 photographers.

Using old vinyl 45s, 78s and 33s as well as CDs, the mobiles illustrate the interplay between music and art. Labels like The Monkees' "A Little Big Me, A Little Bit You" were easy enough to read.

Other records were broken with bits suspended. Some were paint splattered a la Jackson Pollock, an American abstract artist, their titles unknown. Students studied Pollock and created their own abstract works of art, Yocum said.

Empty Bowls will be held in a former metal-shop room that will be transformed into a coffeehouse setting. The event will feature poetry readings and open mic (by audition only) musical performances, Yocum said. Soup will be stored in the cafeteria.

On Tuesday morning, about a dozen students worked on creating a rug woven from strips of decorated paper. The rug will be a focal point in the coffeehouse, along with the mobiles.

Erin Bauer, 14, of Coopersburg says making the strips of paper and painting them were fun and freeing.

"You could splatter or smear and swirl the paint. In art, you get to do things because you want to, not because we're told what to do," Erin said.

Olivia agreed. "I learned art is about self expression and it's very emotional," she said.

The rug students are creating has yet to be sized.

"We don't know how big it's going to get, but we have a large space to put it in, so that's OK," Yocum said.